What’s Outside of Your Comfort Zone?

If we know each other, or if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I deeply believe in the benefits of living life outside of your comfort zone. I can tell you endless stories about why that is the case, but you might not have that much time… So here’s one:

A few years ago I went on a business trip. At the end of a day of meetings we went to a video arcade, where we were divided into teams. The goal was for each one of us to play the same games and at the end of the night, the team with the highest score would win.

Instantly a tornado of emotions and thoughts began to spiral:

The first one was RAW FEAR, fueled by the historical pain of gym class. I was as “girly” as they came and was great at avoiding pain, sweating, and dirt! So I was frequently one of the last to be chosen for any sport that involved those three elements. (Big ouch!)

The second was a deep desire to add value to the team, fueled by a fiercely competitive spirit.

The third was a conscious choice to turn this into an adventure, fueled by my husband’s repeated requests to learn to enjoy some of this world.

When the games began, I sat down behind the wheel of a NASCAR game and felt a battle raging inside.

Instantly one of my teammates whispered into my ear, “Put the pedal down and just steer, whatever you do, don’t let up on that pedal!”

Instantly I felt like I had both a roadmap to success and a team-member that was with me in spirit.

As her advice ran through my head, the voice of fear lost some of its volume. Which allowed me to hear another voice from some recent corporate coaching, “Just focus and have fun!”

…And with that, I clicked off the volume on the voice of fear, put the pedal to the floor, focused, had fun… …And won that game!

By the end of the evening I had competed in multiple games that I had never played before, I won a few more of them, I did not do so well at others. But I had fun, I added value to my team, and I could not wait to get home to go to the arcade with my husband!

I share that story today to emphasize that when I share stories from our expat journey it is not to convince you to be an expat, or to glorify the life we are living, it is to encourage you to look closely at your life and ask yourself, “What is outside of my comfort zone?”

…And then push yourself to do some of those things.

When you do, you will conquer fear, discover more of who you are, experience more joy, more love and make a greater impact on our world!

“I always did something that I was a little not ready to do. I think that, that is how you grow. When there’s a moment of ‘Wow, I’m not so sure that I can do this, and you push through those moments, it’s then that you have a breakthrough. Sometimes that’s a sign that something really great is about to happen. You’re about to grow and learn a lot more about yourself.” Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo

Here’s a small list of things that I know are outside of some people’s comfort zones:

Volunteering to help special needs adults/veterans/cancer patients/aids patients etc…

Driving in a big city

Taking swimming lessons

Changing a diaper

Asking someone out

Starting a business

Instigating a dialog with someone about a difficult topic

Apologizing

Forgiving

Asking for help

Flying

Looking for a job

Really listening to someone you struggle to be around

Saying, “I love you.”

What’s outside of your comfort zone?

What have you done to push through your comfort zone? What did you learn? How have you changed?

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YOU ARE INVITED: To add your comments and to share your professional, personal and faith-based stories. Diverse opinions, compassion, and inspiration are welcome! (I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.)

Chery Gegelman, Speaker & Facilitator

Conference question and answer sessions thrive or die based on the facilitators ability to be professional, prepared and perky! Chery Gegelman does an excellent job of using all three qualities to put the audience at ease, engage them in meaningful dialogue while keeping the conversation on topic!

Chery went above and beyond for us and our students. Her presentation captivated our students and teachers. (While sharing personal experiences and current information about life in Saudi Arabia, she emphasized critical life skills. Which motivated them to consider the limits of their comfort zones, think critically, solve problems and recognize the humanity of others.) Chery is a pleasure to work with and a great facilitator. I give her my highest endorsement.

My class found your information insightful and especially helpful in processing their experience. They all mentioned that their future planning will include your wisdom and they stated that their newfound awareness of the natural processes you outlined will help them retain their positions, maximize their outcomes, and offer support to those in their circle of care.

Chery is a big picture, strategic thinker who understands the importance of relationships in making things happen. Her work with our Workforce Investment Board has demonstrated that once she has a vision, she can identify what needs to be done and motivate others to work as a team. Chery is a natural and skilled leader whom others are happy to follow.

Giana Consulting successfully completed a complex study on the establishment of a new training facility for the community college system in our state. It was done on time and on budget and exceeded our expectations. She is a true professional and was a pleasure to work with.

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About Chery Gegelman

Hi! I’m Chery,
I deeply believe that:
• Anyone can be a leader.
• Everyone knows something that the rest of us don’t.
• We all need to leave our workplaces, communities, nation and world – better than we found them.
Those beliefs caused me to:
1. Build bridges of communication and understanding between people in different positions, organizations, races, religions, and cultures.
2. Instigate change from every position I’ve ever had and continually provided opportunities to lead system-wide change from the middle and the edge of organizations.
Today I am The Founder of Giana Consulting, listed as a Great Leadership Speaker by Inc., write a recognized leadership blog and have co-authored two leadership books.

Speaking

In her keynotes and workshops, Chery Gegelman takes WILDLY DIVERSE AUDIENCES on Adventures that are filled with curiosity, learning and growth.
Her approach makes it possible for people to face hard issues and work through them in productive ways.
Your audience will know they matter. (And so do the people next to them!)
They’ll be reminded how important their knowledge, experience and perspectives are – and have new reasons to seek out the knowledge, experience and perspectives of others.
And they’ll leave with increased energy, new strategies and the desire to make a greater difference.